100+ Women Attend DC TechLady Hackathon + Training Day

On Saturday, over 100 women attended the TechLady Hackathon + Training Day, an all-day learning event and the first women-only hackathon in DC. Code for DC champion Leah Bannon kicked off the program by explaining to the group why she’d organized it: “I go to a lot of hackathons and I’ve really benefited from them.. but I’m always one of only a few women there.”

The idea for this event was to gather women in a supportive environment for an introduction to a variety of tech skills and to recruit them to attend more DC tech events and hackathons.

Women want training. Technical classes took place throughout the day including sessions on HTML+CSS, APIs, Python, Ruby, SQL, Github, and open data. All were packed beyond capacity. As were the two nontechnical classes, both tailored to encourage community: one on imposter syndrome, the other an hour devoted to mentoring and career building. Though classes covered a range of topics, several participants expressed an interest in more. Organizers heard requests for Photoshop and Illustrator, taxonomies, and intermediate-level coding classes.

This was the first hackathon for at least half of participants. By the end of the day, many said they couldn’t wait to attend another. For those looking to get involved, the next Code for DC meetup is a great place to start!

Many participants expressed relief at the supportive environment. With people representing a range of expertise levels and areas in attendance, asking questions was encouraged. And it led to breakthroughs. After the HTML+CSS class, one participant announced she fixed a bug on her website that had been bothering her for months. Light bulbs were observed turning on throughout the day.

This was also a fairly diverse gathering in many senses. Women of all professional backgrounds, from experts in their field to those who were considering a career switch, were there to get more involved in technical projects. Participants of all ages and several moms joined in the fun, including a few with kids in tow.

So what happens now? We want to make the #TechLady Hackathon a regular event that continues to meet demand. Do you have ideas for making the next one even better? Add them to the hackpad, or submit your ideas anonymously.

Code for America is a non-partisan, non-political organization working to create low-risk settings for innovation between citizens and government. Learn more about Code for America's mission and its Fellowship, Brigade, Accelerator, Peer Network and Code for All programs.